Great efforts have been made to give every student equal access to high-quality learning, and to remove barriers for people with disabilities. However, most of these efforts are focused on the traditional, face-to-face classroom experience. Less attention is devoted to those taking courses fully online, and their ability or inability to cope with web-based interactive content. While standards and guidelines have been developed to support and assist with accessible web design, their primary focus has been on technical specifications, assistive technologies, or legal issues. Fewer studies have been conducted to investigate how that "accessible" content is perceived from a learner’s perspective, and how helpful it really is. As distance learning adapts to new technology, instructors should be innovative in their relationship with students and in methods for developing educational content, accommodating the diverse needs and learning styles which will be beneficial for all, regardless of their (dis)abilities.
Accessibility and Universal Design
Table of Contents
Great efforts have been made to give every student equal access to high-quality learning, and to remove barriers for people with disabilities. However, most of these efforts are focused on the traditional, face-to-face classroom experience. Less attention is devoted to those taking courses fully online, and their ability or inability to cope with web-based interactive content. While standards and guidelines have been developed to support and assist with accessible web design, their primary focus has been on technical specifications, assistive technologies, or legal issues. Fewer studies have been conducted to investigate how that "accessible" content is perceived from a learner’s perspective, and how helpful it really is. As distance learning adapts to new technology, instructors should be innovative in their relationship with students and in methods for developing educational content, accommodating the diverse needs and learning styles which will be beneficial for all, regardless of their (dis)abilities.
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Created: May 31, 2009 7:58 pm
Last revised by: rickla on: May 31, 2009 7:58 pm (UTC)
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